William Akers

A lot has been made recently of William Akers and his connection to the Barak Obama campaign. Who is this individual, why is he important and what does it mean? These are all interesting, and complicated questions. While some are quick to come to conclusions, those conclusions are likely filled with inaccuracies that don't tell us the whole story.

To get quickly to the point. William Akers was once part of a radical left-wing group called the Weathermen or Weather Underground. Their name came from the lyrics of a Bob Dylan song. In the song Subteranean Homesick Blues, Dylan croons, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." This group split off of the activist group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in 1969 approximately during the "Days of Rage" in Chicago. The goals the Weathermen were much more radical and violent than SDS. One of their chief goals was to bring about the end of the Vietnam War, a war they believed to be an illegal military action against the sovereign nation of Vietnam.

To accomplish their goals, the Weathermen engaged in a series of bombings, issing a "Declaration of a State of War" against the United States Government. The bombings attributed to the Weathermen include:

1. 1970 Bombing of the home of NewYork State Supreme Court Justice Murtagh. The reason given was that he was presiding over a case involving a group of Black Panthers indicted in another bombing in New York.

2. June 9th 1970 they bombed a New York City Police Station in protest of the killing Soledad Brother George Jackson who had been killed during a prison escape attempt.

3. On May 19, 1972, they bombed the Pentagon by placing a bomb in the women’s bathroom in the Air Force wing. The bomb caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages and devastated classified information on computer tapes due to flooding.

4. On March 1, 1971, the Weathermen exploded a bomb at the Capitol building on the ground floor. They placed the bomb as a demonstration against U.S. involvement in Laos.

None of thee bombs caused the loss of human life and in the case of many of them, warnings were issued in advance in order to keep casualties to a minimum. But while this was the case for most of the bombs, it was not their original intent. It was only after the Greenwich Village bomb exploded on accident, killing several members of the Weathermen. After this bombing, the Weathermen changed their tactics to limit casualties.

Does this make a difference? That is up to you to decide. It seems to be reasonably clear that, while Ayers and the Weathermen did wage a violent war against the US Government over its military action in Vietnam, they did not target civilians opting instead to target only political institutions. Ayers is quoted as saying "I don't regret setting bombs" and that "we (the weathermen) didnt do enough." to stop the war in Vietnam.

To many this unrepentant attitude causes them to write Ayers off as a terrorist. While opinions of Ayers and his involvement in the Weathermen vary widely, the real point during this 2008 election campaign is his connection to Barak Obama. According to Barak Obama, his connectionto William Ayers is limited to the fact htat they live in the same neighborhood and they have served on the boards of some charities together.

During the Democratic Party primary debate in Philadelphia on April 16, 2008, moderator George Stephanopolous asked Obama, "Can you explain that relationship for the voters, and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?" Obama responded as follows: "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis. And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was eight years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn't make much sense, George." (see here.)

Obama has denounced Ayers actions of the 1970's in a statement on his website."Senator Obama strongly condemns the violent actions of the Weathermen group, as he does all acts of violence. But he was an eight-year-old child when Ayers and the Weathermen were active, and any attempt to connect Obama with events of almost forty years ago is ridiculous." (Here)

Basically the isssue comes down to this: If you believe that any association with someone who could be called a domestic terrorist disqualifies you to be president, then, of course, this is a moot point. But I believe most people are not so quick to make that judgement. Is Ayers a domestic terrorist?

Well, that depends upon how you define a domestic terrorist. Is a terrorist someone uses bombs and violence to communicate their message or is it someone who uses bombs and violence indiscriminately to attack both civilian and political targets indiscriminately? If it is the latter then Ayers is not a terrorist and if it is the former then he is a terrorist...but then again so is the US Army. People who support Obama are likely to say that Obama denounced the actions of William Ayers and that Obama cannot beheld responsible for the actions of someone else, especially since he was 8 years old a the time these acts were taking place. Those who do not support Obama will say that this is a questionable association and it reflects poorly on someone who will be required to "Protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Even more so, they say that even if the Ayers connection is weak, it is part of a trend of other questionable connections, including Tony Rezko and his former pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Whether you believe that these types of associations are enough to disqualify someone for the Office of President is up to you to decide.